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How do you discharge static?

friendlyvolc

friendlyvolc

Active Member
OK, I'll start it off. During the winter, I sit at my chair rolling back and forth on a hardwood floor/Ikea plastic floor protector. I then turn around to change the record. I've taken an old Sorbothane mat and stuck it on the wall behind a conduit. Every time I approach the turntable, I punch the mat and discharge whatever (static) load I've built up. If I don't, a big zap goes straight to the deck. If I do, everything is just fine. I've figured that the SP-10 unlike my more primitive Garrard 301 is loaded with sensitive IC boards that can't be replaced. The deck is grounded, but static still happens. So...

What are others doing to keep their electronics happy?
 

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I used to install alarms and at some point began grounding to a dedicated outdoor ground stake rather than a cold water pipe. I suggest that you begin by checking the quality of your neutral-to-earth ground connection at your electric service box. Ground clamps and connection points get corroded. The AC neutral is supposed to be grounded to earth.
Winter? WTF is that? It was over 80 degrees here when I arrived January 5th.
 
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Checking all the connections to ground would be next to impossible because I’m in a downtown commercial loft space that has probably the most convoluted wiring I’ve ever seen. The main panel is several rooms away ( a few hundred feet) and then into the bowels of a 120 year old service room. The best thing I can do is find something rubber that I can discharge into before touching my gear.
 
Are you close enough to the ground level to plant a stake into the wet soil and run a wire up to your apartment? This would work well and get rid of all static charge.
 
I’m in a concrete jungle. The nearest open earth is a quarter mile away. Doesn’t a Zero Stat take care of static on the record? I’m not sure it can be used on yourself.
 
Maybe if you replace the mat under your chair with one of those new glass mats it will reduce the fiction which is causing the static.
 
I have always had a problem with static electricity, I get zapped all the time, how often I get zapped depends on what shoes I'm wearing. I have a pair of Adidas runners that I can get zapped in even if I think about touching a piece of metal. I can't wear a watch because I've never had one last more than a few months before they die, my Aunt was the same way. The theory is too much electricity in the body, hell I don't know. I may be one of the only people on this site that has a special pair of listening shoes/boots. My listening chair is an old recliner I inherited from my Mom after she passed. It's covered in green velour and can cause very much static. I still get zapped in my listening boots but very mild compared to other foot wear. I'm not sure what I will do once these boots are completely worn out, the soles have been filled at least twice with Shoe Goo to keep the water out so I don't think they have much life left in them anymore. Every other pair of foot wear I have is shock city.
 
55Redneck said:
I have always had a problem with static electricity, I get zapped all the time, how often I get zapped depends on what shoes I'm wearing. I have a pair of Adidas runners that I can get zapped in even if I think about touching a piece of metal. I can't wear a watch because I've never had one last more than a few months before they die, my Aunt was the same way. The theory is too much electricity in the body, hell I don't know. I may be one of the only people on this site that has a special pair of listening shoes/boots. My listening chair is an old recliner I inherited from my Mom after she passed. It's covered in green velour and can cause very much static. I still get zapped in my listening boots but very mild compared to other foot wear. I'm not sure what I will do once these boots are completely worn out, the soles have been filled at least twice with Shoe Goo to keep the water out so I don't think they have much life left in them anymore. Every other pair of foot wear I have is shock city.
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Get yourself some ESD (Electro Static Discharge) footwear. Plenty out there available. Just might do the trick for you.

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55Redneck said:
I have always had a problem with static electricity, I get zapped all the time, how often I get zapped depends on what shoes I'm wearing. ........
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Ken Boyd said:
I think his problem is when he is sitting in his chair, not when he is walking.
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Possibly? I'm just going by what he stated above about it being shoe dependant....


55Redneck said:
Thanks, I'll have a look around. I had no idea such a thing existed. :)
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Cool. Hope it helps. Then we can get you out of shoe goo repair mode! :thumbsup:

I would've never known about ESD footwear either, until I started working in a machine shop. We were required to wear steel toe safety shoes. When selecting them from a catalog I noticed the ESD offerings for electronic technicians.

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It’s not like I’m working on electronics all day long. I’m just flipping the record over every 20 minutes or so. I probably won’t invest in fancy footwear for casual listening. But check this 80s video on ESD starring a very young Steve Wozniak:

 
Every time I get off of my polyester cloth covered listening couch, I build up a charge. When I walk toward my system, I discharge by touching the screw on the light switch on the wall (It connects to ground) before I touch my gear.
 
Ken Boyd said:
Every vinyl lover should own a Zerostat gun.
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+1. I don't have a severe static problem per se (not since I separated the audio and chassis grounds on my deck), but lifting a record at the end of play still presents some minor discharge. A light squeeze of the Zerostat while lifting the record takes care of it.
 
ripblade said:
+1. I don't have a severe static problem per se (not since I separated the audio and chassis grounds on my deck), but lifting a record at the end of play still presents some minor discharge. A light squeeze of the Zerostat while lifting the record takes care of it.
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We used to zap each other with the Zerostat back in the day.

The uprights on my DIY equipment rack are made from all-thread. I usually just touch the all-thread and that works jes' fine.
Works really well while I'm using the Acoustat brush, which is supposed to be anti-static but isn't in my experience. Just touch the all-thread while I'm brushing, no issues with static build up.
 
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